Replacing Trickle Vents With Acoustic Trickle Vents Questions and answers on many aspects of soundproofing areas of your home

[Gaz67]

I am in a new build house (4 years old) and I am looking to improve the soundporoofing to the front of the house.
Google has come up with various options including, foam around window frame, acoustic glass etc.
The easiest and cheapest option seems to be replacing my basic trickle vents with acoustic vents. I have found a few online, Greenwood, Titon, Simon etc but the more I read the more confused I am getting.
My question is 1) Are these likely to make a diiference. The trickle vent is constatntly closed due to the noise, will an acoustic vent be a significant improvement on a closed vent or only compared to an open basic vent.
2) Are they straightforward to retrofit, ie do i just unscrew my existing vent, slide in the new one and screw in to place or is there more to it. I'm not the handiest.
3) Can anyone recommend a particular product from experience.

If there is anyone on here who covers lanarkshire and is experienced in fitting acoustic vents then I would be interested in a quote. Five vents in total.

Thanks

[stoneyboy]

Hi gaz67
Filling the vent with expanding foam will probably be the most effective way to reduce noise ingress.
Regards S

[DNJohnston]

Gaz,

The answer to Q1 depends on what the noise is that you are experiencing. You say you want to improve the sound insulation of the facade, are you sure that the trickle vent is the primary issue? Trickle vents are generally small and therefore the majority of the noise that can come through is high frequency and high-mids. If that is the main issue then yes, plugging up or acoustically treating any gaps in the facade should improve your situation. A word of warning on blocking them up completely (or generally keeping them closed): they are there to provide whole house background ventilation to your home, so if you block them up you need to make sure you are opening your windows regularly to keep the air fresh and the damp down. Modern houses are pretty airtight, so you shouldn't really take away your main source of background ventilation! (not that you would die, they're not THAT airtight, but you will compromise your air quality a good bit)

In terms of Q2 and Q3, each vent will have a different profile, so you may not be able to just take the standard vents off and replace. The manufacturers you mentioned should all have a dB rating that they achieve. The higher the number, the more sound they should attenuate, but this will come at the cost of size and possibly number of vents.

Consider also that the main issue might be that your glazing, framing, external wall etc. could be not up to scratch if you are in a high noise area, so doing the vents may not be the catch all you are after, but a good relatively low-cost place to start.

Good luck!

[Gaz67]

Thanks Gents, apologies for taking so long to repond.

The noise is mainly from screaming kids outside. I was considering the trickle vents as a first stage as it appears to be the cheapest and easiest and if Google is to be believed seems to be fairly succesful.

The thinking seems to be that you have the latest glazing and surrounds but with what is basically a good sized hole at the top with virtually no sound resistance.

I am reluctant to fill the gap with foam etc though plenty online seem to have done it.

I would have thought that profiles might differ but Titon in particular seem to market their vent as a retro-fit item. I have emailed for advise but have received no answer. Would I be correct in thinking that I would need to order a canopy and a vent. Vent for inside, canopy for outside.

I appreciate that vents might not be a miracle cure but the house is a four year old new build and I would assume that modern regs would require a decent level of insulation on windows and walls but I might be naive.

If there is anyone out ther who has fitted these then their thoughts would be welcome.

[sgpascoe]

I have the exact same question, I live in a brand new house, amazing double glazing and everything, but a giant hole with a thin bit of plastic covering it, letting all the noise in.

I can't concentrate when I'm working in the office, it's not ideal.

Did you find a solution, or is there anyone else with knowledge of this?

I obviously want to keep my house ventilated, but the noise is very frustrating. I have a 41cm vent fitted, and can see the screw holes if i pop off the covers. I imagine you can just unscrew, and replace it with a new internal vent?

Has anyone had any experience replacing a standard vent with an acoustic one?

[Gaz67]

Sorry mate, the only information I have is what you see in the thread above, It seems an obvious place to start for noise reduction, as you say, hi-tech double glazing and a big hole in the frame covered in a piece of plastic. The fact that a reputable company has produced a solution would suggest it's worth a go.

My thoughts were I doubted that there was an industry standard size vent and without a precise fit in to the existing gap it would probably be less than effective. Not confident enough in my DIY skills to try cutting in to frames. Did try contacting some local window firms but they were only interested in replacing the whole window.

Please let me know if you get anywhere.

[keymx]

Hi, any luck with the soundproofing? I'm in the same boat and it would be great to have and idea how effective those acoustic vents are.

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